Benton County Local Minnesota History and Genealogy

Benton County, Minnesota

First created in 1849.
County Seat is Foley.
Cities, towns and communities include: Foley, Gilman, Oak Park, Rice and Sauk Rapids. Select this link to identify Benton County TOWNSHIPS and Communities within each township.

Benton County is located in central Minnesota. Neighboring Minnesota counties include: Morrison county to the north; Mille Lacs county to the east; Sherburne county to the south; and Stearns county to the west.

Please note: Though the information on this web page is believed to be correct, the possibility of error remains. Please notify the webmaster should an error be found.

Benton County, Minnesota
U.S. Census Bureau: State & County QuickFacts for Benton County, Minnesota
Tiger Interactive Map of Benton County, Minnesota, 1990.
1895 Map of Benton County, Indiana, by Pam Rietsch at: prietsch@ismi.net
Minnesota Historical Society Library

Minnesota Online Death Index, 1908 through 1946.

Benton County Historical Society and Museum
115 2nd Avenue N - Sauk Rapids, MN 56379 Phone: (320) 253-9614.
City of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota includes a brief History of Sauk Rapids
Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud [est. 1889] and Parish Directory - For Catholic Church records and information.
USGS: Map locations of Benton County features including cemeteries, churches, populated places and more. Please note that the map town listed with a feature may be used as a map reference for the site, and may not be the town where the feature is actually located...Select a map to see the location of the actual feature. This database may not be complete, and, as with any database, there may be errors.
Benton County Profile, Genealogy and Information - by Ron Zurek.
Great River Regional Libary - "...Serving the residents of Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wright Counties and the City of St. Cloud.
Foley Community Library 251 N 4th Avenue - Foley, MN 56329 Phone: (320) 968-6612.
Benton County Courthouse 531 Dewey Street - Foley, MN 56329 Phone: (320) 968-5000.
Benton County Clerk Route 2 - Foley, MN 56329-9802 Phone: (320) 968-6254.
Benton County Recorder 531 Dewey Street - P.O. Box 129 - Foley, MN 56329 Phone: (320) 968-5037.
State of Minnesota - North Star, Minnesota State Government Online.

Contact the Minnesota Department of Health for certified Birth records from 1900 and certified Death records from 1908. Certificates may be ordered by mail, phone, fax, and in person at the office. There is a fee for obtaining birth or death certificates.
Minnesota Department of Health
Attention: Vital Records
717 Delaware Street Southeast
P.O. Box 9441
Minneapolis, MN 55440-9441
Phone: 612-676-5120 (For birth records, press 4; For death records, press 5)
Records prior to these years, may be requested from the County Registrar/Recorder in the county where the event occurred.

Instructions on obtaining certificates of marriage or divorce decrees and index search.
MN Dept. of Health list of County Registrars/Recorders: choose county

Benton County TOWNSHIPS and Communities within each township TOWNSHIP names in bold / caps; Community names below
LANGOLA Benton Beach, Rice	GRAHAM Novaks Corner, Silver Corners	ALBERTA Brennyville, Gilman, Jakeville, North Benton	GRANITE LEDGE Granite Ledge, Rum River
WATAB Watab	MAYHEW LAKE Fruitville, Mayhew	GILMANTON Bushville, Foley	MAYWOOD Oak Park
SAUK RAPIDS Sauk Rapids	MINDEN	ST. GEORGE Duelm, Parent	GLENDORADO Glendorado

Map Resources:

· Tiger Interactive Map of Benton County, Minnesota, 1990.

Additional Research Resources:

Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.
Minnesota Historical Society Library.

MHS: Minnesota Women's History
Minnesota State History.

Professional Research
Ann McRoden Mensch, Professional Historical Genealogist

Researching onsight, and with the vast resources of The Allen County Public Library, holding one of the largest genealogical collections in North America. Search the Library's online catalogue to see some of the printed resources available for a location or topic.

Printed resources for this page include:

School and Library Atlas of the World. Fred W. Foster, Ph.D. (Editor). Sycamore, Illinois: School and Library Publishing Company. 1982.

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